Some children find it hard to listen and concentrate at the level expected for their age in either or both 1:1 and group or whole class situations. Difficulties with attention and listening have an effect on all areas of learning; if a child is not able to listen and attend they will be unable to process information they are given.

Children who have English as a second language should not be regarded as having a speech and language difficulty. Even children who have had limited exposure to English before going to school can become competent communicators. However, some of these children may have speech and language difficulties in their heritage or home language.

Before children learn to talk they need to develop their early communication skills, such as: looking, joint attention, taking turns and listening. These skills are regarded as the foundation to speech, language and communication development.

Difficulties with spoken language skills can present in a number of different ways including, difficulty putting words together to make a sentence, difficulty using accurate word endings e.g. verb tenses and plurals, limited vocabulary development and difficulty sequencing ideas to make a story.

Some children have difficulties with social skills and interaction i.e. being able to use language appropriately within a social context (pragmatics). Social skills are the ways in which we use both language and non-verbal communication such as eye contact, facial expressions and body language.

Children can present with a range of different speech sound difficulties. Some children may not be able to use a specific sound or sounds in their speech; others struggle to co-ordinate the movements of their lips and tongue to accurately sequence sounds to make words. Children’s speech sound difficulties can have an impact on their ability to make themselves understood and developing reading and writing skills.